I'm not sure how to describe it, so I'll just leave it in the comments.

I'm thinking of getting into Pynchons work wheres the best place to start. Normally for an author id go with their first book but is that a good idea here?

For reference, I’ve watched 7/8 of PTA’s feature-length films (and 2 of his short films) and I have only read TCoL49, though I enjoyed it so much I plan on reading several more of Pynchon’s novels.

View Poll

So when Mr Pynchon passes away, what do you think will happen? Will there be novel's released after his death? An autobiography? I just wonder what will happen if he passes away within the next ten years or he may be currently writing.

Something I dislike is when the author makes a book difficult for the sake of difficulty, whereas I don't get the inclination that Pynchon is doing the same thing with his books. Still a newbie, but having finished AtD & 100 pages into GR I think the difficulty comes from his unconventional style of writing -- you're obviously not going to pick up all the tiny references but the basic plot is pretty accessible, it seems more like Pynchon is guiding through all these cool things.

The novels are dense, and require the reader's attention to a degree most books do not, you are essentially bombarded with info in a few passages which probably can be conflated with "difficulty" but that's not what I would subscribe to that style of writing.

PS - (GR spoilers) There are sexual implications of Pointsman with his dog subjects, right?

I’ve been rewatching the first three seasons of “Arrested Development” and this time around I was struck with the multitude of stylistic similarities. It’s frenetic pace, it’s sometimes almost nonstop jokes, silly character names, a narrative that jumps around through flashbacks constantly, and the surprisingly dense storylines of each episode (most of the time several plots happening at once).

What do you guys think?

Rathenau's Speech

"Consider coal and steel. There is a place where they meet. The interface between coal and steel is coal-tar. Imagine coal, down in the earth, dead black, no light, the very substance of death. Death ancient, prehistoric, species we will never see again. Growing older, blacker, deeper, in layers of perpetual night. Above ground, the steel rolls out fiery, bright. But to make steel, the coal tars, darker and heavier, must be taken from the original coal. Earth's excrement, purged out for the ennoblement of shining steel. Passed over.
"We thought of this as an industrial process. It was more. We passed over the coal-tars. A thousand different molecules waited in the preterite dung. This is the sign of revealing. Of unfolding. This is one meaning of mauve, the first new color on Earth, leaping to Earth's light from its grave miles and aeons below. There is the other meaning... the succession... I can't see that far yet...
"But this is all the impersonation of life. The real movement is not from death to any rebirth. It is from death to death-transfigured. The best you can do is polymerize a few dead molecules. But polymerizing is not resurrection. I mean your IG, Generaldirektor."
"Our IG, I should have thought," replies Smaragd with more that the usual ice and stiffness.
"That's for you to work out. If you prefer to call this a liaison, do. I am here for as long as you need me. You don't have to listen. You think you'd rather hear about what you call 'life': the growing, organic Kartell. But it's only another illusion. A very clever robot. The more dynamic it seems to you, the more deep and dead, in reality, it grows. Look at the smokestacks, how they proliferate, fanning the wastes of original waste over greater and greater masses of city. Structurally, they are strongest in compression. A smokestack can survive any explosion—even the shock wave from one of the new cosmic bombs"—a bit of a murmur around the table at this—"as you all must know. The persistence, then, of structures favoring death. Death converted into more death. Perfecting its reign, just as the buried coal grows denser, and overlaid with more strata—epoch on top of epoch, city on top of ruined city. This is the sign of Death the impersonator.
"These signs are real. They are also symptoms of a process. The process follows the same form, the same structure. To apprehend it you will follow the signs. All talk of cause and effect is secular history, and s

hello guys, this is a pynchon fan from turkey. i am really into pynchon but there are no translations (lot is translated but i cannot find a copy of it) of him in Turkish so i am obliged to read his work in the original language. i did pretty ok while reading inherent vice but i am kinda afraid to get started with his other works. Are there any non English speaking pynchon fans? how did you guys overcome the difficulties of reading him? i'd appreciate any help. thx guys.

Understanding Thermodynamics – Chapter 6

The conclusion of the Second Law of Thermodynamics discussion and what does this have to do with Thomas Pynchon and/or The Crying of Lot 49 anyway?

If you’ve followed along this far, you’ve probably learned something about the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics and how heat engines work. Chapter 6 concludes the discussion on the Second Law, which makes an appearance in TCOL49 – primarily when Oedipa visits Nefastis and learns whether or not she is a “sensitive” by using a machine Nefastis constructed that uses the theoretical concept of “Maxwell’s Demon” *and* links thermodynamic entropy to information entropy. I’ll briefly discuss Chapter 6, then recap the Nefastis episode, and finally add some of my own commentary.

Van Ness

In Chapter 5, Van Ness introduced a “box of tricks” which takes compressed air as an input and outputs one cold stream of air and one hot stream of air. In Chapter 6, given a few defined operational points, he walks through a numerical analysis of the Second Law to determine if such a box of tricks could exist without violating the Second Law. The most important point here is:

>“Thermodynamics merely puts a limit on genius.”

Van Ness demonstrates that the box of tricks does not violate the Second Law and, indeed, is not even a very efficient device before revealing how the trick is performed and where it is useful. Van Ness concludes the chapter by demonstrating how the First and Second Laws can be used to develop the efficiency of any particular cycle, thus obviating the need to memorized various cycles and their attendant formulas.

Note - it's very interesting to me that Van Ness couched parts of Chapters 5 and 6 in this challenge from an outsider making claims about a mysterious device and how application of some fundamental pieces of thermodynamics can validate or invalidate those claims. After all, the critical appearance of entropy in The Crying of Lot 49 is a mysterious device (box of tricks) doing extraordinary things that appear to violate physical law.

Pynchon

In my Harper Perennial paperback, this quote begins on page 84:

>“You know how this works?”
>
>“Stanley gave me a kind of rundown.”
>
>He began then, bewilderingly, to talk about something called entropy. The word bothered him as much as “Trystero” bothered Oedipa. But it was too technical for her. She did gather that there were two distinct kinds of this entropy. One ha

Howdy Weirdos,

As we approach the commencement of our summer group read of Thomas Pynchon's fifth novel, Mason & Dixon (four weeks from today), I want to officially announce and kick off our Mason & Dixon edition of Giving the Gift of Pynchon.

What is Giving the Gift of Pynchon? It's a little thing we, as a sub, started right before the Vineland group read to ensure that everyone who needed a copy of Vineland could get one from some of our more generous or well-off suscribers.

So if you don't have a copy of Mason & Dixon or the means to acquire at this time, use this opportunity to comment below and identify yourself as a potential Beneficiary.

If you're reading this and have a spare copy of the book, or a spare couple of bucks that you can utilize to buy a new or used copy of the book for another member, you may volunteer below as a Benefactor, as well.

I will add you all to the table below and match up Beneficiaries with Benefactors to ensure everyone who needs a copy of the book gets one.

Those In Need

Benefactor List

Happy Reading, folks.

-O'Bloom

Edit: If you're too embarrassed to say publicly that you need a copy, please, by all means, message me privately, and I'll help arrange something for you discretely.

I connected with the prof Jeff Severs at UBC who assured me the Pynchon conference is indeed scheduled for next year in June at UBC. More info will be forthcoming.

In the meantime there is an online symposium June 26 2021 (next month). Here is the info:

Please join us on Zoom for “Pynchon in 2021: An Online Symposium” on Saturday, June 26, 2021, 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. PDT. With the in-person International Pynchon Week conference in Vancouver BC postponed till June 2022 (see below), I’ve organized this online symposium as a chance to connect with fellow Pynchonians in digital form.

This online symposium will feature a morning roundtable on current developments in Pynchon studies with Peter Coviello, Joanna Freer, and Brian McHale; an afternoon series of small-group discussions in breakout rooms, on special topics and led by veterans of IPWs and Pynchon scholarship; and some chances for breakout-room socializing and “coffee breaks” at a couple points throughout the day (or night, depending on your time zone – our start time is 9:00 on the west coast, noon in NYC, 6:00 in Berlin, and later still as you follow the fading lights eastward in the Zone . . .).

The event is free, and all those interested in attending are welcome. No academic affiliation required. Advance registration will be required, though, to get the Zoom link, to select an afternoon small-group discussion for yourself, and so I know the number to expect. Stay tuned for a link to the simple registration form and further details – I’ll post again on this email list in mid/late May when I have all that organized and ready to roll out.

2. With planning for post-pandemic life and travel now thankfully much more realistic, I am happy to announce that International Pynchon Week in Vancouver BC will be held the week of June 5-11, 2022, on the campus of the University of British Columbia. In the next month or two I will be establishing IPW 2022’s web presence (with all the needed info) and posting a call for papers, with a deadline for paper and panel abstracts likely to be in November 2021. I’ll publish that news and send links on this list as well. (And this announcement email will go soon to pynchon-l and the Facebook WASTE group.)

I look forward to seeing you at these events! If there are questions at the moment you can email me at jeffsevers@gmail.com. Best wishes on health, safety, and beating this damn pandemic.

ALSO: For those thinking of submitt

Hi, I'm a filmmaker from Australia who's written a short film script about Thomas Pynchon. It's fictional, of course, but I was still wondering if I could somehow get in contact with him to get his permission to use his name for this film. Can someone point me in the right direction?

I’ve only fully read Vineland. I’m currently working on Gravity’s Rainbow and this morning I had the pleasure of reading the candy scene 😂😂😂 Now that was some funny stuff

*taken from the W.A.S.T.E facebook group - it might be of interest to this subreddit*

Please register and join us for “Pynchon in 2021: An Online Symposium” on Saturday, June 26, 2021, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. PDT. The event will feature a morning roundtable (moderated by Luc Herman) with Peter Coviello, Joanna Freer, and Brian McHale, and afternoon small-group discussions, led by a wonderful cast and with some special guests, on topics including invisibility, sexuality, music, Orwellian politics, Inherent Vice, and workshopping future International Pynchon Week papers.

Registration is required: click on the link below and answer a few questions, including selection of two afternoon small-group discussions (capacity will be limited on these, to help focus discussion). A schedule of events is at the link. A Zoom link for the entire symposium will be sent to the email address you enter a few days before June 26. Please register as soon as you can but by June 21 at the latest. All are welcome.

Registration form: https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSdCTNfPuAD2c9.../viewform

Thanks, be in touch with small-group discussion leaders if they request it (see the registration form), and direct all overall questions about the symposium to me at j*ffs*v*rs@gma*l.com. Looking forward to seeing you virtually on June 26!

Jeff Severs

I was gifted a copy of inherit vice. Is Thomas pynchon any good? I've heard great things , " not for everybody" things , and " I don't get it all he's insane" things. Halo

Any comic books you would recommend to someone who is fan of Thomas Pynchon? Maybe something that appeals to postmodern sensibilities? Perhaps a work of Hysterical Realism in the medium?

I just finished reading the back cover of Gravity’s Rainbow and I just realized that the book’s main character, the titular gay rocket, is very similar to the real life rainbow missiles that Raytheon is making for Pride Month. Yet again Pynchon has predicted the absurdity of modern life.

Happy birthday, Thomas Pynchon! 🥳

My translation of Delillo’s Mao II has comment by TP on the book. Laudatory of course. Anyone knows where this comes from? Did TP review Mao II somewhere?

Heard rumors about the conference being in Canada next year! As a Canadian I approve

This sincerely worked for me - just imagine Norm Macdonald is narrating esp helpful with Mason & Dixon

In my mind he stays as a plucky Freshman with screwed-up teeth and a michevious smile.

Years ago I saw a clip from an episode of the John Laroquette Show where Pynchon played a central part in the plot, after the main characters friend non-chalantly claims to be his friend. Apparently Pynchon gave notes to the shows writers on the episode (“Pandemonium of the Sun”). Now that I’ve actually read some Pynchon I’d love to see the episode, but can’t seem to track it down. Does anyone have a better lead on this?

##Introduction

Howdy, everyone! Sorry that this post is coming in the afternoon rather than the morning; I've been teaching my ninth graders all day! First things first: you can find a link to Pynchon's most famous short story here.

Now, there is one prevailing interpretation of this story, but I'm not going to give it to you. Instead, I'm going to provide a) brief context for the story, b) a summary of the story, c) my very first literary analysis paper from college, for which I was assigned this text, and d) some discussion questions to kick us off. I'll let our later discussion leaders dive into the more popular interpretations.

##Context

"Entropy" is one of Thomas Pynchon's most anthologized and studied short stories. It was written while attending Cornell in 1960. Notably, Pynchon himself has expressed dislike for this story in his introduction to Slow Learner. There, he asserts that the work seems to have stemmed from the desire to "commit on paper a variety of abuses, such as overwriting." He claims that the work is an example of a young writer's mistake of forcing a theme onto the characters rather than having the former develop through the latter, that his concentration on the concept led him to "shortchange the humans in the story." He offers budding writers the following words of wisdom: "Get too conceptual, too cute and remote, and your characters die on the page."

In his discussion of this work, Pynchon takes much care in attempting to explain the significance of the notion of entropy as he chose to portray it in his story as well as his general take on the concept. Pynchon is the first to admit, however, that entropy is a difficult concept to get one's head around: he writes, "Since I wrote this story I have kept trying to understand entropy, but my grasp becomes less sure the more I read." He beckons us to research the subject and come up with an understanding of it on our own, for, like Callisto, Pynchon seems to feel quite strongly that entropy is a concept metaphorically applicable to many aspects of life.

Pynchon credits his major influences in the formulation of "Entropy" as Henry Adams and Norbert Wiener, author of Cybernetics and the Human Use of Human Beings. He explains "that the `theme' of the story is mostly derivative of what these two men had to say."

##Summary

> Meatball Mulligan throws a lea

Just finished Inherent Vice, which happened to be the first Thomas Pynchon book I’ve ever read. Thought it was absolutely phenomenal and I just started Gravity’s Rainbow, which is a little frustrating but has definitely intrigued me so far. Unfortunately my vocabulary is dreadful and I’m constantly looking up words I don’t know so this book will probably take me a few months to finish. I’m on page 17 and have already reread excerpts I had trouble understanding.